ORLANDO – If you’re looking for a golf clothing company that finds a balance between comfort, functionality – producing jackets, shirts, pants, hats and shoes you can wear on and off the course, adidas continues to do a great job of checking all the boxes.

Adidas has delivered with its 2019 line – which buyers got an up-close look at during the PGA Merchandise Show at the Orange County Convention Center.

With innovations like X-Traxion and Boost on its shoes and some nice looking clothing lines that push ahead with the notion that they needn’t be exclusive for just the time spent on the golf course, adidas continues to be very strong in a market crowded by plenty of others.

“I don’t think it’s just what we’ve done in 2019, it’s a carryover from 2018,” said Casey David Lennon, brand activation manager for adidas Golf Canada. “We have three wonderful silos in styles that are refined to not just one specific golfer. We have something for everybody. You can pair Adipure with a blazer, you can come to the course in your Adicross stuff.

“As (adidas founder) Adi Dassler said, through sport we have the power to change lives and be very inclusive in what we’re doing. We can take so much DNA from our sport performance line and put it back into our women’s line, our junior line, put hints of it in Adicross and in Adipure. We want everyone to feel like they’re welcome on the golf course. It’s not just collars and pleated khakis. We want to speak to everybody, not just that kind of stuffy way from the past.”

With its line of shoes, adidas has launched the Tour360 XT and the Tour360 XT SL (the spikeless version). The X comes from the small X’s which populate the bottom of the shoe, helping keep the foot more stable during the swing motion. There’s also the Tour360 XT SL BOA, which allows for adjustability – quick tightening or loosening.

“For footwear, it’s going to be our A-story,” said Lennon. “The great thing is the Tour360 XT compared to the 2.0 – it’s already 10% lighter. They’ve gone from 10 cleats to eight cleats. At any point, the X provides eight points of contact on the ground.”

The shoes also have adidas’ potent Boost foam, adding to the comfort and helping absorb shock.

“You get a full blast of boost, it’s like walking on a cloud – the comfort is unbelievable, you get energy back,” said Lennon.

The company has stepped it up with its Frostguard clothing.

“It’s not new, but it’s redesigned,” said Lennon. “It’s down filled through the torso area. It’s not stitched through, when you stitch through you tend to get air leaks. With this, it creates heat to expand throughout the body.”

Then there’s the Go To Adapt jacket.

Said Lennon: “For Canada, it’s perfect, it’s built for a variety of seasonal changes. Early morning when it’s still dewy, it’s still going to keep you warm. You can wear it late fall, it’s a good, versatile piece. We got rid of the telescopic sleeves and went through with more of a traditional sleeve, still with some stretch to keep it locked up on your arm.

Adidas takes particular care in the designs of its women’s pants.

“It still has all that ultimate technology that we used so well with the men’s, we’ve taken that and re-constructed the women’s bottoms,” said Lennon. “They’re different silhouettes with the same technology It’s not shrink it and pink it. We don’t just take the men’s apparel piece, shrink it and make it pink for women. We have all that technology for all of these pieces.”

Adicross pants continue to be popular.

“Adicross is our on-course, off-course look,” said Lennon. “We say, it’s always on because the game never stops. It’s very versatile mixed in with knits, wovens. There’s a different silhouette in the pant with the five pockets. It’s kind of a go-to at the end of the day. You can pair it with a hoodie. It goes back to that relaxed, refined style. It’s something I probably tend to wear every day.”

CUT OUT THE DISTORTION

PeakVision sunglasses have an eye for technology that the company says cuts out distortion and helps golfers.

“This is new technology,” said David Feaser, president and CEO. “Basically in sunglasses, you really haven’t had a lot of progression in new technology over the years. Instead of just handing out something that covers your eyes and shades it in a gradient, this actually enhances your game of golf by providing you the best vision before you make that shot. Jack Nicklaus always said that the game of golf starts out with your vision – plain and simple. (The golf glasses) are non-polarized. We do sell polarized, but we say they’re good for water sports, skiing and things like that – high-glare situations.

“The lens has extreme clarity on the same basis as crown glass. It’s got a minus-52 Abbe rating so it’s extreme clarity and basically zero distortion anywhere you look in the curvature of the lens. You’re getting a pristine look when you’re looking out on the course. It combines a 20% neutral grey up top that fades into a 60% high definition amber seamlessly on the bottom. That gives you three times the definition when you’re looking at the course so it’s like looking at the course in high definition.

You can find a variety of styles at www.peakvision.com (30-day money back guarantee).

“People don’t know how damaging the sun is,” said Feaser. “We all know of skin cancer, but the same thing can happen to your eyes. The last thing you want to do is damage your vision.”

THE 19TH HOLE

Among the golf celebs on the floor Thursday were Paula Creamer, Nancy Lopez and Luke Donald … along with the usual collection of golf pros, buyers and industry experts, there were more than 1,000 media members from 23 countries on hand for the show … There’s always a good selection of open forums and seminars at the show – I sat in for one on Shrinkage (easy, now, it was about inventory losses for golf shops – often through shoplifting or employee theft).

This Week's Flyers

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.